This invention is directed to a portable knockdown rack that is designed to hold a roll of wallpaper and has a guide unit through which the paper may be drawn and supported for cutting lengths of paper from the roll.
In preparing wallpaper for hanging, lengths of the paper are initially cut from the roll. In doing this, it is customary to rest the roll of paper upon a table and to then manually draw a free end of the paper over the table surface to a measured extent. A yard stick is then laid across the paper, and a knife is drawn along the stick to cut a section of paper from the roll. This action is repeated until the papering work is completed. In this process, difficulty in experienced in holding the roll in place while a length of the paper is being drawn from it. Often, the roll is caused to move irregularly about and tear on to drop off the table. The need to manually lay a yard stick across the paper each time a length of the paper is to be cut also has its problems in that it is not always properly positioned and irregular cuts of paper result. It it also a common practice in unrolling lengths of the paper across the table prior to cutting to do so with the back face up. This has its faults in that defects which may exist in the pattern face of the paper cannot be noticed until the paper is subsequently turned pattern face up. It is customary in preparing sections of paper for hanging to cut the sections for side to side matching of the patterns and to do so with a minimum waste of paper. To this end, two rolls of paper having the same pattern are used, and sections of the paper are cut in sequence alternately from the two rolls. The present method of doing this has its faults in that the rolls of paper are alternately picked up from the table or floor according to where they are resting and laid down again. Such action involves an undesirable waste of energy and loss of time, and often results in mismatching.
The present invention enables the unrolling, matching and cutting of walllpaper without the faults mentioned. With the present invention the roll of paper is supported in such manner that it may be unrolled and drawn over the work table pattern face up at all times, whereby any defects that may exist in the pattern are readily noticeable. The rack of the present invention is adapted to support two rolls of paper, whereby the rolls may be alternately unrolled in sequence for cutting lengths of the paper for side by side matching of the patterns. Also, a component of the rack is a cutter guide or stick which enables a straightedge cutting of the paper at all times, and which is not required to be manipulated to a proper position for each cutting operation. Further, the rack of the present invention has a knockdown structure. Its components are few and structured so that they may be readily assembled and secured together by as little as four bolts. And, when a job employing the rack has been completed, the several components of the rack may be readily unbolted from one another. Further, they may then be laid upon one another and preferably bolted together to provide a flat compact manually portable pack. Its knockdown feature provides various benefits. particularly in portage, storage and ready replacement of parts.
The invention further lies not only in the particular structure and arrangement of its parts, but also in their mode of association with one another to effect the objects and advantages intended herein.